Dan Carcillo is not a leading scorer for the Philadelphia Flyers but he's one of those guys that is very instrumental to a team.
On a squad that boasts as much depth top-to-bottom as the Flyers do, Carcillo doesn't need to be a scorer.
His role is simple—protect the star players and don't take idiotic penalties.
Since Coach Peter Laviolette's arrival one year ago, Carcillo has toned down his game a tad.
While still very nasty and hateful towards the opponent, his demeanor and conduct have improved.
Carcillo has been seen out there with the top lines more often than ever before. This is because Laviolette trusts him to protect the "big guns" and knows that he's also capable of making some plays.
Carcillo is more valuable to this team than people give him credit for.
How about this stat—with Carcillo in the lineup, the Flyers are 62-45 over the past season and a half.
Without him, they are just 10-15.
Those are telling numbers when you consider that he's viewed as just a fighter. It's hard to argue that the Flyers don't need Carcillo in their lineup.
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Andrew J. Kearney
Philadelphia Flyers: The Dan Carcillo Effect and Why It Matters
December 7th, 2010 by Andrew J. Kearney Leave a reply »
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